


Aunt Peggy's Mac and Cheese

by rachangel



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Aunt Peggy Carter, BAMF Peggy Carter, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Tony, Mac and Cheese, Mourning, Past Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter is Tony Stark's Godparent, Peggy's Funeral, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony knew Peggy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 09:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20637239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachangel/pseuds/rachangel
Summary: What if Tony knew Peggy?Tony reads a speech at Peggy's Funeral about Peggy's involvement in his life and how she practically raised him.-snipit-“Margret ‘Peggy’ Carter has just passed away”.All the Avengers bar Tony immediately went to comfort Steve and console him as tears spilled from his red rimmed eyes. Natasha and Clint shot scowls at Tony as he stayed by the counter, not noticing his frozen figure and shaking hands. Suddenly a phone started its shrill tone from Tony’s pocket. When he picked it up, everyone apart from Bruce and Vision shot him dirty glances as he picked it up and walked out the room, appearing unaffected by Steve’s loss. Not even the spies noticed the red around his eyes, the tears threatening to fall, the way he could barely walk straight and almost collapsed out of the room. All Steve’s hearing could pick up was, “Hey Dan, yeah I just heard”.





	Aunt Peggy's Mac and Cheese

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I really liked the whole Aunt Peggy trope because it seems normal for Tony to have met Peggy in his life. Anyway this is my first time writing so sorry if it's really bad. I would love some constructive criticism ;)

When the text came through all the Avengers were in the adjoining living room and kitchen. Tony leaning against the counter nursing his fourth cup of coffee, Bruce reading over some new research as he made his favourite green tea and Wanda and Vision sat cuddled up in the loveseat. A secretly amused Nat and a very openly enthusiastic Clint were playing some Mario kart, Thor was off planet and Steve sat drawing on the last free couch while laughing at the gaming two. The ping of Steve’s phone was noticed by all of them, but none paid a whole lot of attention to it. It was Steve’s next words which stopped all of them in their tracks.

“Margret ‘Peggy’ Carter has just passed away”.

All the Avengers bar Tony immediately went to comfort Steve and console him as tears spilled from his red rimmed eyes. Natasha and Clint shot scowls at Tony as he stayed by the counter, not noticing his frozen figure and shaking hands. Suddenly a phone started its shrill tone from Tony’s pocket. When he picked it up, everyone apart from Bruce and Vision shot him dirty glances as he picked it up and walked out the room, appearing unaffected by Steve’s loss. Not even the spies noticed the red around his eyes, the tears threatening to fall, the way he could barely walk straight and almost collapsed out of the room. All Steve’s hearing could pick up was, “Hey Dan, yeah I just heard”.

The funeral was set one week later and Tony was down in his workshop for all of that week, even when he did appear it was scarce and he never spoke to any of the team, only receiving dirty looks from the spies and Wanda, pleading looks from Steve, small smiles and comforting looks from Vision and food from Bruce because Bruce is his science bro. He finally emerged on the day of the funeral in an all-black suit and a crimson tie which Steve realised to be the exact same shade as Peggy’s lipstick. He sat in the car with them as it headed to the Church but still did not speak to them and ignored the varying looks from everyone else in the car, instead he focused on a crumpled piece of paper in his hands.

When they arrived Tony immediately disappeared off and the Avengers went to sit in the back of the Church in respect of people closer to her. They noticed Pepper and Rhodey sitting in the middle next to what looked like a teenage boy and disapproved of their lack of respect and partly wondered why they were here in the first place. It got to when they saw Tony in the front pew in between Sharron Carter and Daniel Sousa that Wanda finally spoke up, eyeing the way Nick fury took a seat behind Tony in the second row. 

“It’s incredibly disrespectful for Stark to try and make Steve’s loss and Peggy’s death about him,” she commented as she glared holes in the back of his head. Clint nodded in agreement, but it was Vision who replied.

“I don’t think you should judge without knowing the whole story.” He spoke up in defence, the Jarvis part of him flashed memories of Peggy coming into Tony’s lab and praising him until Tony could no longer be distinguished between him and firetruck. Before she scolded him for the absolute mess he had made and cooked him some mac and cheese, which they ate while watching re-runs.  
No one made anymore mention of it after that, but Nat knew something was up. Initially she had ruled off Tony knowing Peggy because he never mentioned her or knowing her but then again Tony was an enigma, always talking without saying anything. Their 4 am sessions didn’t even give her any hint into his past apart from the mission report she had read. The only name she knew was Yinsen as she had found him sobbing it over and over again into the darkness. There were odd interactions between Fury and Stark as if they were familiar with each other before they had officially met. Plus, Fury pushed extra hard for Stark’s stabilizer and to find him when he was in Afghanistan. Vison obviously knew something too but he made no move to mention what it was so it was down to her to try and figure it out while still comforting Steve.

After Sharon’s heart-warming speech Tony finally moved to get up. He walked up to the podium on shaky legs and clung to the wood when he finally got up there. 

“Hi everyone,” He started with a pathetic attempt of a casual smirk,” I know what you’re thinking. Why the hell is Tony Stark up here about to give a speech? Well I hope this speech will answer that. 

You see the third person to hold me when I first came into this world was Peggy. From the midwife to my mother to Peggy. Next it was Jarvis and Ana and then Peggy again. That was also the first time she swore in front of me, as she cursed my father for missing the birth of her godson. She would call me her little Tonio and whenever she visited me, she would tell me that the best thing you can ever do in life is to get back up once you’ve fallen down while cooking me her legendary mac and cheese.

I was 3 years old the first time I was kidnapped and after only a broken leg she came charging into the basement and shot the kidnapper point blank in the face without hesitation. Two years later when she came to visit me and found my black eye and blistering hands she charged right up to my father and slapped so hard he broke his favourite scotch glass. She then proceeded to drag me to her house, where Dan only smiled at me before making me some mac and cheese as she treated my wounds. My dad left for a whole year that time.

At seven years old, I had built my first robot for my school’s science fair and she held my hand as Ana and Jarvis congratulated me until they were horse. My mum was barely happy, and my father was barely home (the rare times he was, it was worse then when he was away) but Peggy was always there. Raising me and shaping me into who I am today. At twelve and hundreds of kidnappings later, she finally deemed me old enough to learn self defense and that summer I earnt my black belt in judo and could have qualified for the Olympic gymnastics team. I also beat good old Nick Fury here in hand to hand in the SHIELD gyms.

When I was fourteen, I was sent off to MIT where I met Rhodey, she still called me every weekend and found it necessary to call Rhodey every weekend as well to make sure he was still looking after me. At fifteen I naively fell in love with the wrong person and they ended up using me for my father’s plans. The night they had finally gotten hold of the plans they left me broken hearted, and my dad left me so black and blue I could barely walk. I felt like I was worthless, and it felt like everything had been ripped away from me. Later that night Peggy treated my wounds; Dan made some mac and cheese and Peggy finally told me about Steve Rogers. She told me that he was her first love and that she had loved him when he was still a small boy from Brooklyn. She said he was good to the point that everything was black and white, not the grey that we deal with in our lives. His determination and ambition won her over, but she said that even now she would still choose Dan. She said, ‘just because your first love is magical and heart breaking doesn’t mean that you can’t find your one.’ She said, ‘to love is to live and it can take many chances of love or it can just one but the best thing we can do in this world is to get back up once we’ve fallen down.’ That night she tucked me in and said ‘Tonio there are people you will love unconditionally just like I to you and there are people who you love so much that you feel you could not live without them, but that’s the thing, you get back up and you use that love to strengthen your love on those you love unconditionally instead.’

At 17 my parents died. She held my hand that whole day, ate mac and cheese with me and cleaned the empty alcohol bottles around my past-out form and then she put me to bed. The next day she took me to SHIELD and gave me a lab and let me invent all through my sorrow and anger. Then a week later, Nick made the mistake of challenging me to a spar. I hit him so hard he broke his arm and I broke two of my fingers. It hurt like a bitch but seeing Peggy laugh for the first time for in what felt like forever made it completely worth it. When I turned 21 Edwin Jarvis died. This time we cried together, eating mac and cheese as Dan looked after us. Ana Jarvis had gone only a few months earlier due to cancer and Jarvis had a heart attack from the grief. Two of our family gone in a year. We spent a week crying as we recounted memories before she took me to SHIELD and put me in a lab and let me invent my sorrow and anger away. When she came back down four days later with mac and cheese, we cried even more when my new AI spoke in the same rich British accent that the late Jarvis used. We hugged each other and sobbed until we passed out in that Lab and Nick had to get Dan to come collect us. 

When I met Pepper, Peggy took one look at her and told me she approved and that I would have to work to keep up with Pepper but it would be worth it. Dan patted me on the back and told me good luck, but you know what, they were both right. 

Afghanistan came next. When I came back, she refused to let me go and told me that she knew I was alive because her little Tonio always get back up. I told her all about the waterboarding, the stolen weapons, how many times I said no, the car battery that powered my heart, the open heart surgeries with no pain killers or anaesthetic, the surgeon Yinsen who told me to make something of myself, the miniature arc reactor, the armour made from scraps, and how Yinsen gave his life so I could live. And we ate mac and cheese. She held me and cried and cried and told me how proud she was. This time Dan joined, and he held both of us and cried with us. He said that they never stopped looking and the Nick had half of SHIELD looking for me. When Stane betrayed me, she told me that he should be glad I gave him a quick death because she wanted to torture him until he begged for death. 

Then I got palladium poisoning, and she was the only one I told, her and Dan. She held me for a while and told me that if I dare die before her then she will make my ghosts life hell and we ate some mac and cheese. I’m guessing she told Nick so he could find a cure but next thing I know I’ve got the Black Widow as my new PA just so he can keep an eye on me. I alienated myself from both Rhodey and Pepper as I started getting prepared to die, even dealt with Vanko while all the was happening. Every week she would come see me with a pot of mac and cheese and we would chat through the night. In the end Nick found a stabiliser and I managed to make a new element to cure the poisoning. She said to me, ‘I knew you could do it because you’re my Tonio and you get back up every time you fall down.’

It was when Nick called me in for dealing with the aliens and Loki. That’s when I met Steve Rogers for the first time. I had gone to see Peggy on the Helicarrier that day and she told me that I would have to put up with him for the time being and cooked some mac and cheese while we both worked for solutions to the sceptre. When I flew into that worm hole, I called her, and she was crying hysterically. She told me that if I do this, I better get back up again. She told me that I was her little Tonio and that she loved me so much, told me I was her son and she loved me like her own and I told her ‘I love you mum.’

It was about a year later that the illness started to settle in and a year after that that she started calling me Howard. On her good days she would call me her Tonio and we would eat mac and cheese and on her bad she would tell me to be a better father and send me icy glares. After that I was targeted by the Mandarin and I met Harley Keener. He has her same sassy attitude and threatened me with a potato gun. After that sometimes she would call him too on her good days, ask how school was going things like that, said she finally had a grandson. Then Ultron happened and she cried with me again and ate mac and cheese with me as we mourned the second time Jarvis died. Halfway through she blinked and asked me why we were eating mac and cheese since she knows I hate it. Then she said, ‘Howard why are crying? Did something happen to Tonio?’ I had to leave the room as I mourned the loss of two people that day.

The last time I saw her was a two weeks ago and I told her that I loved her, and she was my second mum. It was her last good day and we sat and ate mac and cheese. I knew it was coming since her good days were much rarer now. I think she knew it to because she told me ‘Tonio I love you as my own son and no matter what you must get back up once you’ve fallen down. It is the best thing you can do in this world and you do it the best so you must continue to do it.’ I’m happy I got to say a final goodbye to her but eating mac and cheese and mourning the death of our family just isn’t the same without her holding me. Inventing binges won’t be the same without her calling me to tell me to go to sleep. So, I hope that answered your question as to why Tony Stark is up here. Aunt Peggy if listening, I love you so much and I’m going to go home after this and feast on all the mac and cheese I can find, I’m going to cry until I can’t anymore and then I’m going to invent all my sorrow and anger away. But then I’m going to get back up just like I’ve done before. I love you mum.”

Slowly Tony lowered himself back down to his seat as he sobbed harder than they had ever seen him cry. Everyone else in the Church was crying along with him though and the Avengers at the back took in everything has just told them. Most of them not being able it process it fully. None of them ever looked at Tony the same after that.


End file.
